Atomizer for liquids



NOV. 30, 1954 os ows 2,695,813

ATOMIZER FOR LIQUIDS Filed Jan. 6, 1954 IN V EN TOR.

ILKXAI/DER R084 A/OWSKI.

United States Patent 'Ofifice 2,695,813 Patented Nov. so, 1954 :My improvement pertains 'to atomizers suitable for use in conjunction with small bottles already used in trade, the

bottles being madeof pliable plastic material which permits the respectivebottle to be squeezed but which is 'rsoresillent that the bottle will promptly resume its shape.

"The atomizer, when applied to albottle of this sort, would serve to discharge therefrom the contents, such as, for

example, a medical compound, inthe formof a spray.

The object of my improvement is to provide an atomizer capable of-produc'ing' a spray of "highly dispersed minute particles of the liquid-.sogthatath'e spnay'will be fog-like in character.

A further object of my improvement is to produce an atomizer of a constructionwhich will 'aidin preventing the discharge of the liquid in undisperse'ddroplets. I have reference to the fact that ordinarily liquid is atomized in a series of blasts, and that after each blast a small quantity of the liquid may accumulate within the nozzle of the atomizer, to be ejected by a subsequent blast in comparatively large droplets.

A further object of my improvement is to provide an atomizer incorporating therein chambers of varied pressure in order that the atomizing of the liquid might be enhanced by the entry of the ejected liquid from a chamber of high pressure to another chamber of an expanded capacity and lower pressure.

I shall now describe my improvement with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of a bottle equipped with my atomizer, the wall of the bottle being partly broken off in olrder to disclose elements of the atomizer within said ott c;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the atomizer, the view including a fragment of the top of the bottle;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 44 of Fig. 2.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The atomizer may be made of any suitable material, although from the point of ease of manufacture and the cost of production a plastic material will be preferred for the purpose. The atomizer is made to fit into the mouth 12 of bottle 10. For this purpose it includes a lower por tion 11 and an upper portion generally indicated by numeral 13 and rising above the level of the rim 14 of said mouth.

The lower portion 11 has the form of a cylindrical plug containing, midway its height, an axial, cylindrical aperture 15 which at its lower end flares outwardly, as shown at 16, so that said aperture at said lower portion has the form of a truncated cone. At the top said aperture is defined by a shallow, cone-like formation 17 and opens into an axial passage 18.

At a level spaced from the top of said passage 18, the body of the atomizer is reduced in diameter into what constitutes its upper portion, generally identified by numeral 13. Said upper portion includes a vertical, cylindrical member 19 having a circular wall 20 sloping inwardly, as shown at 22, into a funnel-like formation opening at its lowest point into said passage 18. The lowest portion of the formation has the shape of a cavity 23.

At the junction of the upper cylindrical portion 13 to the lower portion 11, the atomizer is provided with a plurality of radial ducts 24 for admission of atmospheric air from outside towards said cavity 23.

At a level upwardly spaced from said ducts, the wall 20 of cylinder 19 is provided with transverse apertures 25,

and cemented to the upper 'rim 26 of the cylinder 19 is a discharge member. The latter comprises an inverted funnel-like base 27 and a cylindrical spout 28 which is of a substantially-reduced diameter. 1

As in some cases a bottle which 'is to be used in conjunction with the atomizer has a neck'which is threaded externally, as shown at 29 in Fig. 2, the lower portion 11 of the atomizer will include an overhanging lip 31 threaded internally for engagement with said threads 29.

Disposed within the axial aperture 15 in the lower portion 11 of the atomizer, is a cylindrical plug 32 which at its lower end is integrally connected to a stem 33 of a reduced diameter. At its upper end the plug includes a cone-shaped nozzle 34 provided'with 'anaxial duct 35, the duct extending downwardly into the stem and being diametrically expanded therein, as shown at 36, for reception of a tube 37. The latter is open at both ends and extends at its lower end close to the bottom of the bottle.

Within its outer surface, the plug 32 contains a plurality of vertical slots forming passages 38 leading from the ftlinnel-like aperture 16 to the space above the top of said p ug.

It will be noted that the space between the top of the plug and the top of aperture 15 constitutes a chamber which I shall call a high pressure chamber. By contrast, cylinder 19 encloses what I shall call a low pressure'chamher, the two chambers being connected by said passage 18. On the average, the diameter of the passage measures only ten thousandths of an inch. However, it will be understood that the diameter may vary slightly according to the viscosity of the liquid which is to be atomized.

In operation the atomizerwor'ks as follows:

It will be assumed that the bottle 10 is filled with a liquid L to a level above the lower end of tube 37. When the bottle is squeezed, air above the surface of the liquid will force a quantity of the liquid upwardly through the tube 37 towards the orifice 39 and the spout 34. Simultaneously, air under pressure will be forced into chamber C through passages 38.

The liquid projected from the orifice 39 and the highpressure air forced through passages 38 will both enter passage 18, the air intermingling with the liquid. It will be still under the high pressure that the mixture will reach the low-pressure chamber C. As the capacity of the chamber is much larger than that of the high-pressure chamber, and as the pressure in the low-pressure chamber is only that of the atmosphere, the spray, consisting of the liquid and the high-pressure air, will expand, turning into a fog-like mist.

Serving that purpose are the aforementioned radial ducts 24 and the apertures 25 in the wall 20 of the cylinder 19, as both said ducts and said apertures allow additional air to be drawn first into the spray, on its way to the lowpressure chamber, and more air into the low-pressure chamber itself. The radial ducts 24 serve also an additional purpose. The atmospheric air sucked in through said radial ducts and entering the low-pressure chamber will form a cushion between the wall thereof and the spray itself, to intercept droplets of liquid which otherwise might settle upon the wall of said chamber. It is also with the object of preventing ejection of droplets from the spout that its base has the shape of an inverted funnel to intercept such droplets of liquid.

Normally, a small quantity of the liquid will remain within the above-said cavity 23 after the completion of each squeeze of the bottle. As the liquid in that cavity would be exposed to normal atmospheric pressure, it would be ejected in a solid drop on the next squeeze of said bottle. However, this eventuality will be prevented by the fact that when the bottle is allowed to resume its full form the air which is sucked into the bottle will carry the liquid back into the high-pressure chamber. It is the air in said radial ducts, and the air passing therethrough, that will be immediately available for the purpose.

It will be understood that some changes may be made in the structure of my atomizer without departing from the inventive principle disclosed herein.

What I, therefore, wish to claim is as follows:

1. An atomizer for use with a squeeze-type plastic bottle, the atomizer comprising a cylindrical lower member adapted to fit into the mouth of a bottle, said member being provided with a cylindrical space therein opening downwardly, a hollow cylindrical upper portion above the level of the mouth of said bottle, the portion being open at the top to form a discharge nozzle said cylindrical member and said upper portion being internally connected by a constricted passage, a cylindrical plug axially fitting into the lower portion and terminating with a nozzle at the top, but leaving a free space between its top and said passage, the space forming a chamber, the plug containing an axial bore leading to said discharge nozzle, and a plurality of vertical ducts leading from the interior of the bottle to the chamber above said plug, a tube axially fitted into said bore to convey liquid from the bottle to said nozzle, the body of the atomizer being provided with a plurality of radial ducts at the juncture of the lower member and the cylindrical upper portion to admit atmospheric air towards the top of said passage, and with a plurality of apertures in the wall of the hollow upper portion in an upwardly-spaced relation to said radial ducts.

2. An atomizer for use with the squeeze-type plastic bottles, the atomizer comprising a cylindrical lower portion adapted to fit into the mouth of a bottle, said lower portion containing an axial cavity opening downwardly, and a cylindrical upper portion containing an axial cavity opening upwardly but constricted at its outer end to form a spout, the cavity in the lower portion opening into the cavity of the upper portion by means of a constricted axial passage, a cylindrical plug axially disposed in the cavity in the lower portion and including a discharge nozzle at the top, the nozzle being in a spaced relation to said passage, the plug containing an axial bore terminating at the top within said nozzle and opening at its lower end into a tube adapted to convey the contents of the bottle to said nozzle, the outer surface of the plug containing a plurality of vertical slots forming ducts from the interior of the bottle to the space above the top of the plug, the body of the atomizer containing a plurality of radial ducts leading from outside to the interior of the upper portion at the level just above said passage between said cavities in the lower and the upper portion, the wall of said upper portion being provided with a plurality of aperture for admission of outside air into said upper portion.

3. An atomizer for a squeeze-type plastic bottle, the atomizer including a lower portion adapted to fit into the mouth of the bottle and an integrally-formed upper portion, the lower portion including a chamber opening downwardly, the upper portion including a chamber of a capacity exceeding materially that of the lower chamber, said upper chamber being defined at the top by a coneshaped wall and having an axial spout rising upwardly therefrom, the two chambers being connected by a constricted axial passage, a plug fitting from below into the chamber of the lower portion, the top of the plug being spaced from said passage and including a discharge nozzle in an axial alinement with said passage, the body of the atomizer being provided with a plurality of ducts extending radially from the top of said passage outwardly for admission of air from outside the atomizer, while the wall of the upper portion is provided with a plurality of transverse apertures for admission of outside air into the chamber within said upper portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,612,456 Marron Dec. 28, 1926 2,012,139 Peabody Aug. 20, 1935 2,578,907 Tupper Dec. 18, 1951 

